Department of Transportation to Host Three Public Education Meetings On Bikeshare Program Coming to County

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will host three public meetings in June on the extension of the Capital Bikeshare program into Montgomery County. Bikesharing allows travelers to rent a bike from on-street stations and drop it off at other stations within the bikeshare network. The meetings will focus on selected urban centers of Montgomery County where bikesharing stations will be installed in late summer 2013.

Information on bikesharing throughout the County will be available at each of the following meetings:

At the meetings, residents or employees in the County can learn how the bikeshare system currently works in the District of Columbia, Arlington, and Alexandria and how it will operate in Montgomery County. They will be able to review proposed Bikeshare Station locations in the Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Rockville, Shady Grove and Life Sciences Center neighborhoods.

MCDOT staff will be available to explain how lower income people commuting, working or completing job training in the Rockville, Shady Grove and Life Sciences Center areas may qualify for free membership in Capital Bikeshare and free bicycle training and route planning. A Federal Grant provides the bulk of the funding for the portion of the Montgomery Bikeshare Network in the Rockville, Shady Grove and Life Sciences Center selected areas. MCDOT will provide updates on the implementation schedule and answer questions about the new transportation option.

For information on the public meetings, contact Margie Boumel at 240-777-7170. For more information on Bikeshare in Montgomery County, visit the new Bikeshare website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/bikeshare.